MECHANISED COAL
across its underground operations .
At Moranbah North , for instance , following the establishment of a new Remote Operations Centre ( ROC ), the mine achieved a number of critical “ industry firsts ” in setting up exception management applications , which have supported stable remote operations when longwall mining restarted late in the June quarter .
‘ Exception management ’ is widely accepted as one of the last remaining elements to undergo the manual-to-autonomous shift , with James Sudworth , Global C & A Manager , Longwall Systems at Komatsu , saying in this same feature last year that it made up the elusive 2 % of longwall operations to have not yet been automated .
Anglo only recently took delivery of two new Eickhoff SL 900 shearers at Moranbah North , with features such as anti-collision radar , infrared seam detection , acoustic monitoring and LiDAR scanners likely to have helped achieve these ‘ industry firsts ’.
Confronting the gas ignition potential head on , the company has also piloted pressure sensors on the longwall equipment at Moranbah North that can cut power from the longwall face , providing an additional control for an overpressure event . Gas monitoring bores from surface have also helped understand the gas situation underground .
At its Grosvenor mine , where development activities restarted in June ahead of restarting longwall mining operations later this year , new longwall equipment set up for remote operations from the re-start of mining operations has arrived .
This includes powered roof supports , an armoured face conveyor ( AFC ) and shearer , all of which had underwent local testing ahead of installation at the mine .
The company was also planning to set up an ROC for Grosvenor that could align with the Moranbah North Mine ROC .
Anglo said it was building a remote operations framework , including workforce engagement , risk assessment and critical ROC systems to help facilitate these changes at Grosvenor .
At its Grasstree mine , the company successfully completed remote shears from surface , with the mine currently trialling key “ ROC enablers ”.
Grasstree , part of the Capcoal complex in the Bowen Basin of Queensland , has an Eickhoff SL 750 shearer that the company has been carrying out these remote shears with .
The Aquila Mine , also part of the Capcoal complex , is expected to become one of the world ’ s most technologically advanced underground mines when it starts up next year .
It is on track for remote longwall operations from the start of production , Anglo said .
It ’ s not just on the longwall where Anglo has been taking automation leaps .
The company has partnered with CSIRO to undertake a world-first trial of technology to support automation in the roadway development phase of underground coal mining , with navigation and horizon control work having recently started as part of this trial .
Gaining control from surface
It was Komatsu ’ s prototype Longwall Surface Control system that , arguably , started Anglo on the latest phase of its automation journey , helping conduct the company ’ s first longwall shear fully controlled from surface at Grosvenor in late 2018 .
While COVID-19 had been a factor in accelerating the uptake in use of Komatsu ’ s Longwall Surface Control , James Sudworth says the drive to “ reduce the number of operators on the face has been a strategic vision for most mine operators for several years ”
Since then , Komatsu has gone commercial with this system and clocked up several references across the globe .
In Australia , this includes the Oaky North and Ulan West coal mines in Queensland and New South Wales , respectively ( both owned by Glencore ), and Appin 7 & 9 and Dendrobrium , in New South Wales ( both owned by South32 ).
In China , the company has also made in-roads with the technology , which allows the operator to control the longwall from a connected device ( PC , mobile device , etc ) with a web browser
Tahmoor mining officials began working with Caterpillar in 2018 for upgrades to several longwall components , with the investment including the new Cat PMC-R 2.0 roof support controller
36 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2021